Roller skate having laminated wheels



Dec. 3, 1968 KAZUO OHASHI ROLLER SKATE HAVING LAMINATED WHEELS FiledSept. '7, 1966 FIG. 1

Inven+or K Azuo HASHI \gx 4 M Ahvnaws United States Patent 3,414,280ROLLER SKATE HAVING LAMINATED WHEELS Kazuo Ohashi, -6-10 Koishikawa,Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed Sept. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 577,767

Claims priority, application Japan, Jan. 24, 1966,

41/ 5,686 1 Claim. (Cl. 28011.19)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improvement in a roller skate comprisingrollers mounted in pairs with the annular surfaces thereof curvingoutward from the outer ends of their common axis, each roller consistingof a plurality of l'arninations extending transversely with respect tosaid axis, the hardness of said laminations increasing from the largerend to the smaller end of each roller.

The present invention relates to a roller skate. An object of theinvention is to provide a speedy roller skate with a minimum area ofcontact between the rollers and the ground. Another object of thisinvention is to provide a roller skate so designed as to be able tonegotiate curves easily, with the outer edges of the rollers beingrounded. Still another object of this invention is to provide a rollerskate in which the roller material has a steadily decreasing hardnessfrom the inside toward the outside, so that any slipping whennegotiating curves may be prevented.

The details of the invention will be described with reference to theattached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is aside elevation of a roller skate according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the skate shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of this invention as seen from the samedirection as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detail view showing one roller; and

FIG. 5 shows a conventional roller skate.

The roller 1 fitted to a roller skate according this invention is madeof an appropriate composition of rubber and other materials, andcomprises a plurality of layers 2 having different hardnesses frominside to outside, the outer surface of each half of said roller beingcurved inward from the outer ends of its axis of rotation so that isapproximately hemispherical in shape.

The rollers comprise a plurality of parallel plates bonded together withthe hardness of the layers decreasing from the innermost layer towardthe outermost layer 2'. In

FIG. 1, 3'is a bearing in the roller 1 and 4 is a shaft which carriesthe roller.

3,414,280 Patented Dec. 3, 1968 A pair of these rollers 1 are rotatablymounted on the projecting arms 5' of the mounting plate 5 to form thefront wheel and rear wheel. The mounting plate 5, with rollers attachedthereto, to the shoes 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, it is possible to mount a pair of rollers 1 onthe shoes 6 in close proximity to each other. Also it is possible tomount a pair of rollers 1 with their inside surfaces in contact witheach other.

The are-a of contact between roller and ground in both the front wheeland the rear wheel is exceedingly narrow. Moreover, the distance xbetween the two rollers can be decreased. Thus, the friction between theground surface 8 and a rotating roller is reduced and accordingly thespeed of the new roller skate can be higher than that of .a conventionalskate. Moreover, in negotiating a curve the semi-spherical surface ofthe roller can be exploited. The chain line 8' of FIG. 2 shows thesliding course followed by the roller in negotiating a curve. Thereby,any slipping in the direction normal to direction of travel can beprevented and as the result the curve can be taken smoothly, because theroller 1 has its hardness gradually diminishing toward the outer layer2'.

In the case of the conventional rubber skate, as shown in FIG. 5, theroller 10 is cylindrical [Will]. a wide area of contact with the groundand a large distance y between two rollers; it may have good stability,but it is inconvenient for developing a high speed or taking a curvesmoothly.

I claim:

1. In a roller skate, a pair of annular rollers axially spaced along acommon axis, each roller being symmetrical 'about said axis and having apart spherical annular surface curving gradually inward from a largerend toward a smaller end, the larger ends of said rollers beingpositioned facing each other, and each roller being formed from at leastthree individual laminations extending transversely with respect to saidaxis, the hardness of said laminations increasing successively from thesmaller end to the larger end of each roller.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 307,826 11/1884 Worcester28011.28 2,064,690 12/1936 Schavone 28011.28 2,166,767 7/1939 Petermann280--.-11.22

FOREIGN PATENTS 229,745 2/ 1925 Great Britain.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

MILTON L. SMITH, Assistant Examiner.

